Increasing demands are being placed on finite energy reserves used to power vehicles such as cars, trucks, and the like. In this regard, improvements to make vehicles and drivers more efficient provide benefits of minimizing transportation costs and reducing environmental pollutants. Current technologies for improving driver efficiency include progressive shifting (PGS) and gear down protection (GDP). PGS prompts a driver to switch to a higher gear when a PGS engine speed setpoint is reached to encourage early shifting. GDP prompts a driver to switch to a higher gear when a GDP engine speed setpoint is reached to encourage operating in a higher gear. In either situation, drivers may be prompted directly by displaying a visual indicator, or indirectly by automatically reducing an amount of fuel made available to the engine.
Unfortunately, PGS setpoint engine speeds and GDP setpoint engine speeds are currently determined by trial and error. This is a problem, especially considering that the high degree of customizability available when ordering a vehicle (e.g., engine models, transmission models and configuration, and/or the like) makes it unlikely that setpoints appropriate for one vehicle configuration will be appropriate for another vehicle configuration or that setpoints appropriate for one intended use will be appropriate for another intended use.